Pianoforte-action.



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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE MORSE GUILD, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO LOUISEADAMS GUILD, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

PlANOFORTE-ACTION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 709,630, datedSeptember 23, 1902.

Application filed December 1'7, 1901. Serial No. 86,298. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE MORSE GUILD, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Pianoforte-Actions,of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to materially simplify and improve theconstruction of upright-pianoforte actions whereby I am enabled to produoe a more perfect action than heretofore and at agreatly-reduced cost.

A further object of my invention is to secure'a more powerful blow ofthe hammer as well as more perfect and rapid repetitions of the same.

These objects I attain by the construction shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of an uprightpianoforteaction constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 isasideelevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a similar side elevation with the partsin the position which they occupy when the key is depressed. Figs. 4 and5 are enlarged sectional details of the throwofi lever and the adjacentportion of the lifterrod and jack, showing the parts in two differentpositions. Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the lower portion of theaction, illustrating the pedal-operated device for lifting the rear endsof the entire series of key-levers.

In the said drawings,10 represents the center rail, to the top of whichare secured flanges 12 13, the former having pivoted thereto thedamperlever 14, carrying the damper 15, while to the latter is pivotedat 16 the hammerbutt 1?, the lower portion of which is properly shapedand constructed to form the jackbutt 18. 20 represents the hammer, 21the hammer-stem, 22 the hammer-rail, and 23 the damperspring, allconstructed in the usual manner.

2% represents the key-lever, fulcrumed at 25 and carrying at its rearend an adjustingscrew 26, on the head of which bears the lower end of anupright rod 27, at the upper end of which is formed the jack, the entirerod forming what I term a combined lifter-rod 50 and jack, the jackportion of which lies directly beneath the j ack-butt 1S and acts uponthe same to operate the hammer when raised by the depression of the key24.

28 denotes the hammer-retracting spring, which is secured at its lowerend to the combined lifter-rod and jack and is connected at its upperend with the hammer-butt 17 by means of a light cord 29.

To the lifter-rod and jack 27 near its lower end is pivoted an arm orlink 30, the opposite end of which is pivoted to the flange 31 of a rail32, adjustablysecnred by means of screws 33 34 to a bracket 35, saidlink being inclined downward from the flange 31, whereby the lower endof the lifter-rod and jack is thrown outward as it is raised by thedepression of the key. The rail 32 is secured to the bracket 35 byscrews 33, passing through the bracket and entering the front side ofthe rail 32, while the screw 34 passes through the rail from the rearand takes a bearing against the bracket, whereby the rail is forced awayfrom the bracket when permitted by loosening the screws 33. By makingthe rail 32 movable toward and from its supporting-bracket by means ofthe screws 33 34, as above described, the distance of the jack from thecenter or hammer-butt pivot 16 may be adjusted with great nicety toregulate the movement of the hammer in accordance with the dip or strokeof the key, and thus cause the hammer to properly strike the string whenthe key is clepressed.

To a flange 36 at the bottom of the rail 10 is pivoted at 37 a throw-01flever 38, preferably having a slight downward inclination toward thefront and provided with a downwardly-extending arm 39, which is adaptedto be brought into contact with an adjustable throw-01f button 40,projecting rearwardly from the lifter-rod and jack 27. The front end ofthe lever 38 lies in contact with the rear side of the lifter-rod andjack at a point intermediate between its ends and forms a center orfulcrum, on which it will turn as it is raised by the key, whereby asits lower end is thrown outward by means of the link 30 the jack at itsupper end will be continuously carried inward toward the center pin orhammer-butt pivot 16, thus securingacontinuous solid bearing of the jackagainst the jackbutt until the hammer has nearly reached the string, sothat it is impossible for the blow to fail when the key is rapidlystruck in repeating.

The throw-off lever 38 is actuated by the lifter-rod and jack 27 throughthe medium of a pin 42, projecting from the rear side of said lifter-rodand jack and fitting loosely within a bushed recess or aperture 43 inthe throwoif lever, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The throw-off lever isnormally inclined downward with respect to the axis of the pin 42, sothat when the lifter-rod and jack is in its lowest position, with thehammer at its great est distance from the string, the pin 42 takesabearing against the throwoff lever ata point 44, Fig. 4, at the frontend of the opening 43, which is located at a considerable distance fromthe fulcrum 37 of the lever, so that during the first portion of theupward movement of the lifter-rod and jack the throw-off arm 39 iscaused to move very slowly toward the throw-off button 40; but as thelifter-rod and jack continues to rise the outer end of the pin 42 takesa bearing against the throw-off lever at a point 45 much nearer to thefulcrum 37, as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the movement of the throw-01flever 38 is greatly accelerated, so that the arm 39 will act quickly onthe button 40, and thus cause the jack to be thrownolf its seat by theslight remaining downward movement of the key to relieve the hammer andallow it to reoede from the string. The hammer can thus be carried closeto the string 19 before the throw-off arm 39 touches the throw-offbutton 40, at which time the key has nearly reached the limit of itsdownward movement. Consequently the entire throw-off of the jack torelease the hammer must be accomplished with what little remainingdownward movement is left for the key, which remaining movement ismultiplied by reason of the pin 42 acting at this time on the throw-0dlever much nearer to its fulcrum, as above described,and produces thedesired result in a most satisfactory manner.

By my improved construction I keep the jack in position under thejack-butt until the hammer is close to the string, when by theaccelerated movement of the arm 39 of the throw-off lever by reason ofthe pin 42 acting on the lever 38 nearer to its fulcrum the jack isinstantly thrown off its seat into the position shown in Fig. 3 and thehammer thus released by the slight remaining downward movement of thekey, the upper end of an arm 46, projecting from the jack, being at thatinstant brought into contact with an adjustable back stop or catch 47,secured to an arm 48, projecting from the hammer-butt, by means of whichthe hammer is caught and prevented from again striking the string afterthe delivery of the blow, a perfect back-catch being thus provided, bymeans of which the hammer after striking a powerful blow is held closeto the string ready for a rapid repetition of the blow, if desired. I amthus enabled to produce a most perfect and rapid repetition of the noteby the manipulation of the key and at the same time cause the hammer togive a fine and perfect blow every time it strikes the string. To thethrow-off lever 38 is secured an upwardly-projecting arm 50, the upperend of which when the key is depressed is brought into contact with thelower end of the damper-lever 14 to actuate the same at the proper time,the spring 23 serving to retract said damper when the key 24 isreleased.

I will now describe the device whichI employ in lieu of the ordinarysoft-stop to soften the blow of the hammer on the string, referencebeing had particularly to Fig. 6. Beneath the lower ends of the entireseries of key-levers 24 and at a short distance therefrom I arrange along bar52,which is mounted on vertical pins .53, sliding freely throughcloth-hushed openings in the key-bed 54 and secured at their lower endsto another long bar 55, which rests on the outer ends of twolevers5657,fulcrumedat5859. Theinnerends of these two levers 56 57 arelapped one over the other and through their ends is passed a rod 60,having a button 61 at its upper end, which rests on the end of the upperlever 56. The lower end of the rod is suitably connected with asoft-pedal 62, which when depressed will, through the connectionsdescribed, raise the bars 55 and 52, the latter raising the ends of thekey-levers 24 to a predetermined distance, which is limited by asuitable stop-in this case the bottom of the key-bed with which the bar55 is brought into contactand in this manner the front ends of theentire series of keys are simultaneously depressed to carry the hammersclose to the strings and hold them in such position, so that when thekeys are struck they will be capable of producing onlya light soft blowof the hammers upon the strings.

\rVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In a piano-action, the combination with acombined lifter-rodandjackextendingfrom the hammer-butt to the key and a downwardlyinclinedlink pivoted at one end to a support and at its opposite end to thelifter-rod and jack near its lower end, whereby said lower end is thrownoutward as it is raised, of a rest or bearing contacting with the rearside of said lifter-rod and jack between its ends and forming a centeror fulcrum on which it will turn, whereby a continuous inward movementof its upper end toward the hammerbutt pivot is produced as its lowerend is forced outward.

2. In a piano-action, the combination with acombinedlifter-rod andjackextending from the hammer-butt to the key,and means whereby the lowerend of the lifter-rod and jack is thrown outward as it is raised, of arest or hearing contacting with the rear side of said lifter-rod andjack between its ends and forming a center or fulcrum on which it willturn, whereby a continuous inward movement of its upper end toward thehammer-butt pivot is produced as its lower end is forced outward, and athrow-off device for producing a sudden withdrawal of the jack from theshoulder of the hammer-butt when the hammer has nearly reached thestring.

3. In a piano-action, the combination with a combined lifter-rod andjack extending from the hammer-butt to the key, and means whereby thelower end of the lifter-rod and jack is thrown outward as it is raised,of a rest or hearing contacting with the rear side of said lifter-rodand jack between its ends and forming a center or fulcrum on which itwill turn, whereby a continuous inward movement of its upper end towardthe hammer-butt pivot is produced as its lower end is forced outward, athrow-off device for producing a sudden withdrawal of the jack from theshoulder of the hammer-butt when the hammer has nearly reached thestring, and a back-catch for holding the hammer close to the string.

4:. In a piano action, the combination with a hammer-butt, the latterhaving the jackbutt formed thereon, of a lifter-rod and jack extendingfrom the key to the jack-butt, a key for actuating said lifter-rod andjack, a ham mer-retracting spring connected with the lifter-rod andjack, a downwardly-inclined link pivoted at one end to a support and atits opposite end to the lower portion of the lifter-rod and jack,whereby the lower end of the latter is thrown outward as it is raised, athrow-oiflever hearing at its front end against the rear side of thelifter-rod and jack and connected therewith by a pin projecting fromsaid lifter-rod and jack into a hole at the front end of the lever, saidlever forming a center or fulcrum for the lifter-rod and jack on whichit will turn when its lower end is thrown outward, to produce acontinuous inward movement of its upper end toward the hammer-buttpivot.

5. In a piano-action, the combination with a lifter-rod and jackprovided with a rearwardly-extending pin and a throw-off button, of athrow-off lever provided with an arm adapted to be brought into contactwith said throw-01f button, and the front end of said lever forming arest or fulcrum for said lifterrod and jack on which it will turn'as itrises to operate the hammer, the inner end of said pin during the firstpart of the upward movement of the lifter-rod and jacktaking a bearingagainst the front end of the throw-off lever to raise the same slowly,and the outer end of said pin when near the termination of its upwardmovement taking a bearing against said throw-off lever at a point muchnearer to its fulcrum, whereby the movement of said lever is acceleratedto produce a quick throwofi during the latter part of the stroke of thekey.

6. In a piano'action, the combination with a lifter-rod and jackextending from the ham- Iner-butt to the key and provided with arearwardly-extending pin, and a throw-off button beneath the same, andmeans whereby the lower end of the lifter-rod and jack is thrownout-ward as it is raised, of a throw-off lever having adownwardly-extending arm adapted to be brought into contact with thethrow-off button, said lever hearing at its front end against the rearside of the lifter-rod and jack and forming a centerorfulcrum on whichthe latter will turn as itis raised, and having an aperture at its frontend for the free reception of said pin, the inner end of the latterduring the first part of the upward movement of the lifter-rod and jacktaking a bearing on the lever at the front end of its aperture, and theouter end of said pin when near the end of its upward movement taking abearing against the upper wall of said aperture at a point much nearerto the fulcrum of the lever to thereby accelerate the movement of thelatter and produce a quick throw-off when the key is near the end of itsstroke.

7. In a piano-action, the combination with a combined lifter-rod andjack extending from the ham mer-butt to the key, of a rest or bearingcontacting with the rear side of said lifterrod and jack between itsends and forming a center or fulcrum therefor on which it will turn, andadownwardly-inclined link pivoted at one end to said lifter-rod and jackand at its opposite end to a support, whereby the lower end of saidlifter-rod is thrown outward as it is raised, said support being madeadjustable toward and from its bracket to vary the normal distance ofthe jack from the harm mer-pivot in accordance with the dip or stroke ofthe key.

8. In a piano-action, the combination with a combined lifter-rod andjack extending from the hammer-butt to the key, and adownwardly-inclined link pivoted at one end to a support and at itsopposite end to the lifterrod and jack nearits lower end, wherebysaidlower end is thrown outward as it is raised, of a rest or hearingcontacting with the rear side of said lifter-rod and jack between itsends and forming a center or fulcrum on which it will turn, whereby acontinuous inward movement of its upper end toward the hammer-pivot isproduced as its lower end is forced outward, and a spring for holdingsaid lifter-rod and jack against said rest or fulcrum.

9. In a piano-action, the combination with the hammer-butt, the latterhaving the jackbutt formed thereon, of a lifter-rod and jack extendingfrom the key to the hammer-butt and provided with a rearwardly-extendingpin and a throw-oft button beneath the same, a key for actuating saidlifter-rod and jack, a hammer-retracting spring connected with thelifter-rod and jack, means whereby the lower end of the lifter-rod andjack is thrown outward as it is raised, athrow-off lever having adownwardly-extending arm adapted to be brought into contact with thethrow-off button, said lever hearing at its front end against the rearside of the lifter-rod and jack and forming a, fulcrum on which thelatter I front end of the throw-off lever is raised by 10 will turn asit is raised, and having an aperthe lifter-rod and jack.

ture at its front end for the free reception of \Vitness my hand this27th day of Novemthe pin projecting from the lifter-rod and her, A. D.1901.

jack, whereby the throw-off lever is actuated w by the lifter-rod andjack,adainper, damper- GEORGE MORbE GUILD lever and damper-spring, anarm projecting In presence ofupwardly from the rear end of the throw-01fP. E. TESOHEMACHER,

lever and acting on the damper-lever as the F. B. SPAULDING.

